Jade Agard Design

Have you seen Instagram's new logo yet? The internet's already nicknamed it "Instagzam" because of how the new letterforms connect. I broke down what actually changed in the redesign and, more importantly, how to test your own logo's legibility before it ever reaches a client's inbox. Have you run into a legibility surprise on a logo after it was already finalized? Would love to hear how you caught it (or didn't) in the comments.

When a Logo Redesign Backfires: The Instagram Wordmark Legibility Problem Instagram's new logo has people reading "Instagzam." Here's the logo legibility mistake behind it, and how to test yours before you ship it to a client.

Confession: my first client questionnaire had twenty questions, and I got a lot of "modern but timeless" answers because of it. I cut it down to twelve, sorted into five categories, and the answers I get now are so much more usable. One question in particular ended up completely changing the direction of a project once a client answered it honestly. Curious what questions you ask before starting a brand project, drop them below!

The Questions I Ask Every Client Before Starting a Brand Project The real brand strategy questionnaire I use with every client, the story behind it, and why shorter and sharper beats long every time.

Okay I have to talk about this because y'all keep asking. I made the actual switch from Adobe to Affinity for my brand process and I'm sharing the real breakdown, not just a features chart. The shortcuts that tripped me up, the font thing I somehow didn't see coming, and the one issue I'm still working around when I hand files off to other designers. If you've been going back and forth on Affinity vs Adobe, this one's for you. Link in the comments 👇

jadeagarddesign.com

Ever get client answers back on a branding questionnaire and think "okay but what does that actually mean"? Same. Here's what I changed in mine that fixed it.

What to Include in a Branding Questionnaire (So Clients Actually Answer It) Learn exactly what to include in a branding questionnaire so clients give you real, usable answers instead of vague ones.

These are the pages I didn't know I needed until I'd already done things the hard way.

Early in my career my brand guides were vague in ways I couldn't even see at the time. I thought clear visuals were enough. Turns out clients need more than that. They need to understand the why, know what to do in situations you didn't plan for, and feel confident making decisions without you in the room.

When a brand guide is actually built to do that, the whole handoff changes. Fewer questions. Less back and forth. The brand stays consistent because the system makes it easy to be consistent.
That's what you're looking at here.

Link in bio if you want to see the full template 🔗

Since you've been asking, here's what's actually inside the Brand Presentation Template.

And I want to be real with you because I know how many templates out there look good in the preview and then become a whole project to actually use. This one is not that.

The structure is already done. Brand strategy, creative direction, brand values, audience insights, visual direction, mockups. Every section a solid client presentation needs is already laid out and waiting for your content. You're not starting from a blank slide and hoping it comes together.

It also works in Illustrator, InDesign, Adobe Express, and Affinity, so whatever your setup is, you're covered.
And every template I make comes with a companion guide that walks you through how to fill out each section, including AI prompts if that's part of your process.

If you've been spending hours formatting slides or second-guessing how to present your strategy work, this is the part where that stops. Link in bio 🔗

The designers charging more aren't always doing better work.
They're doing better presentations.

I know that's a little uncomfortable to hear but it's true. The deck is what sells the work to the client. And if you're sending over a PDF with no context, no flow, no story, you're leaving that job to chance.

I put together the 6-slide structure I use in every single handoff in this carousel. Swipe through and take what you need.

And if you want it all done for you, the Brand Presentation Template inside DesignerOS has every section already laid out.

Link in bio.

The reason some brands look consistent everywhere and others feel slightly off depending on where you see them often comes down to this.

One version of a logo was never going to cover every use case. A primary logo designed for a website header is going to look completely different crammed into a social media icon or printed small on packaging. The proportions change. The legibility changes. The whole thing can fall apart.

Logo variations exist so the brand stays strong across all of it. Your primary logo handles the main applications. Your secondary logo and brand mark take over anywhere the primary can't hold up, whether that's a circular crop, a small-scale print, or a background it wasn't built for.

It's one of those things that makes the whole brand system actually work. Save this post if you want to come back to it and let me know if this was helpful.

Moodboards have my whole heart and I don't think that's ever going to change.

Hours on Pinterest. Perfect image combinations. Fonts that feel right even before you can explain why. It's the most fun part of branding for me, every single time.

But I didn't always know how to actually use them. Uni was all concept thumbnails, no moodboards in sight. When I found the design community and saw how designers were using them with clients, I started experimenting. And I quickly realised that collecting beautiful images is the easy part. Making a moodboard that clearly communicates a creative direction is a different skill entirely.

Swipe to see what I include now when I'm building one out.

And let me know in the comments what you keep in mind during your process too. Love hearing how other designers approach this one.

Clients aren't ghosting you because the work was bad. They're ghosting you because the presentation confused them.

I used to blame the client when feedback went sideways. Took me a while to realise my presentation wasn't actually setting my work up to land. Once I fixed the structure, the whole dynamic changed.

Swipe through if you've ever sent something you were proud of and gotten feedback that made zero sense.
The Brand Presentation Template is in DesignerOS, link in bio.